Emotional Antony gives update on Man United future and explains why Real Betis fell apart in Conference League final against Chelsea

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Man United loanee Antony was left in tears after he was powerless to prevent Chelsea coming from behind to beat his Real Betis side 4-1 and win the Conference League final in Wrocław.
The Brazilian has been in dazzling form since moving to Spain on loan in January, scoring nine goals and adding five assists, offering a glimpse of the form that saw Man United splash £86million to sign him from Ajax.
Despite all the pre-match hype, however, the Brazilian was unable to impact the final.
Betis took a ninth-minute lead through Abde Ezzalzouli which they held until the 65th minute when they capitulated and conceded four goals in 25 minutes with Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Jackson, Jadon Sancho and Moises Caicedo all scoring.
At the final whistle, Antony broke down in tears and was consoled by his fellow Man United loanee Sancho who gave him a big hug.
Antony has spoken of his love for Real Betis and the joy he has felt since moving to Seville after his dark days at Man United where he says he did not have 'the strength to even play with my son, going days without eating, staying locked in my room'.
Manuel Pellegrini's side want to keep the 25-year-old but will need to shell out around £30-35m and fend off competition for his signature, leaving Antony in limbo.
And when quizzed after the match, Antony admitted he is no wiser on his future.
'I don't what will happen in the future, only God knows,' he told CBS Sports.
'My work is playing and I'm doing that well. I have a lot of affection for Betis, for everyone but I have a contract with Man United and I don't know what's going to happen.
'Now I will go to the national team and then on holiday then we will see what happens in the future.
'I'm very happy here, everyone knows that but I have a contract.'
Chesea's victory means they became the first club to win each of the five major European trophies but, for almost two thirds of the match, they were trailing to their La Liga opponents.
The Blues looked out of sorts in a first half but Cole Palmer turned the game on its head by providing two crosses in the 65th and 70th minutes — one with his left foot, the other with his right, both equally exquisite — which spun this final on its head.
Antony has scored nine goals and adding five assists for Betis during his loan at Real Betis
But, while congratulating Chelsea on their triumph, Antony admitted that Betis only had themselves to blame.
'Right now it's difficult to say any words, we knew the importance of this final but we lost. Congratulations to Chelsea for the title,' he said.
'Concentration was our downfall.
'It was a good first half but in the second half, we didn't have the ball.
We need to remember that it's a game of 90 minutes and we didn't concentrate for the entire game.'